On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Category: Dive Bars
2115 San Pablo Avenue
Loading...
been going regularly(ish) LOVE it.
nice crowd, i have met some truly decent people, the bartenders are pretty cool, and they allow dogs!
They have Franziskaner!! That alone deserves four stars!!
Besides that, nice seating, typical loud…
Read more »
A no-frills dive bar that's luckily in walking distance to my house. Went there with my friend Jamie who "wanted to get drunk in Berkeley." Small, but decent beer selection and the bartender was super nice. They were playing some really great oldies which got a group up and dancing. However it was WAY TOO LOUD, so we left so we could actually have a conversation.
Credit cards are accepted by there is a $15 minimum.
This place is pretty cool. Lots of weird deco on the walls, kinda like graffiti. They have a pool table and some arcade games too. Looks pretty dark and gloomy, which is nice for a kick back place. They have a weird selection of beer on tap, at least I have not heard of it. The bartender was awesome! I got a beer to try I never heard of and didnt like it so I told the bartender and she let me try samples of others til I found something I liked and didnt charge me for the one I didnt like.
This is a pretty cool kick back place. Loud music, loud people, fun times.
So the drinks were good, service was good, and layout was cool...Only thing kind of weird was the crowd. If you are new to Berkeley or are a CAL student, this may not be the best place for you. It was here I got my first look at a Berkeley hipster. No one was intimidating or anything. I just didn't think it was possible to get a convo going with any of them. Otherwise a nice bar to sit and have a beer.
I once came into Acme Bar after one too many drinks. Unfortunately, I kept drinking. It's not my fault, though. I'll explain.
Much to my delight, the first thing I see when I walk into Acme is Richard Dryfuss*. I congratulate him on "Jaws" and "Mr. Holland's Opus" and he buys me and my friends drinks. That saved the day, because apparently Acme doesn't take credit cards. That would have been a total buzzkill to have to find an ATM. It's 2009. Wake up. Drunk people are more likely to spend money when they can just put it on a credit card. I digress.
We take a few pictures with Richard Dryfuss wearing my friends bouret. I somehow start a conversation with the guy sitting next to me at the bar. I later find out that he's the DJ and had told my friends he thought I was "cute." Adorable. I ask him to play some Rollings Stones and when "Sympathy for the Devil" comes on I almost lose control. And then he's plays "Gimme Shelter." OMG.
And that's where the night gets fuzzy. I don't remember leaving. I don't remember peeing in some random person's driveway in Berkeley.
* OK, it wasn't THE Richard Dryfuss, but it could have been his twin brother.
PM I just received...
"acme bar is now smoke free.
sincerely,
acme management"
Sweet!
My first experience at this bar was one of coughing, wheezing, and irritated eyes. They allow… Read more »
I had a great time at Acme. I was visiting from the east coast and instantly felt at home in this place. The bartenders that I encountered on my visits during the week that I was there were great. Steve is a great guy with a sense of humor and the ability to bust my balls with the best of them, but in a friendly way. Nicole is extraordinarily cute and super sweet. I can't wait to go out west again and visit. Props also go to Gio the resident DJ who is also a super friendly guy. He is the tall black dude who dersses real snazzy and is tall with braids. Strike up a conversation with him about classic alternative and you will have a new buddy. I loved this place and if you don't, there is something seriously wrong with you. If you are looking for martinis and pretentious people, go elsewhere.
Another fun night at Acme. When we first got there (fairly early), the crowd was light, but an odd mixture, and that's what's cool about Acme. It was quiet as everybody was engrossed in the movie "independence day." I put a stop to that... loaded with $5 bills - I crammed the INet Juke - and soon the place came alive with chair dancing, laughing, singing. Awesome. (Oh, except for Creepy Old Man seated near the Juke who would ask "what song is this?" every time a new one started up...)
A few changes to my previous review of Acme - the Holiday Frock Christmas Balls were still hanging about, so maybe they always are...
No more smoking inside, since Jan 1. Boo, but really that's cool, I don't mind stepping outside.
Just like last time, everybody was friendly, fun. Seriously, this is one of the few bars in which I chat happily with random girls. I think maybe Girls At Acme are of a slightly different cut... there's no Intimidation By Outfit.
Drinks still cheap and strong.
When in Rome. And in this particular Rome, it's smoke 'em if you got 'em (and stomp 'em out on the… Read more »
This is a great divey place to just walk in without pretension and grab a drink. The bar keeps were friendly and quick on the alcohol draw. There's a small but decent selection of brews on tap with a similarly decent selection of the harder stuff. I totally dug the eclectic decor and New Wave and 80s music blasting from the speakers. It made it a little tough to carry on conversations, but it was fun none the less. Prices were pretty cheap and it wasn't too packed despite it being a Saturday night. A pool table and some old arcade games like Area 51, provided for some great drunken entertainment in the back . This place will probably not blow people out of this world, but it's just a solid bar that I'll definitely be returning to.
I really like Acme.
My friends bitch about the smoke (which is only an issue late night usually) and try to talk me into going to the Miz Lo. I like it there too but the hipsters kill me sometimes. Other folks do too. If you don't like smoke just go to the other 5 billion smoke free bars in cali and quite cryin bout it!
The bartender is really nice, efficient, and fun.
I would almost always rather be hangin on San Pablo than Shattuck!
Word.
For many a year, I've been walking and driving by Acme, feeling slightly inferior to the awesome-looking rockabilly/psychobilly people loitering outside, smoking their cigarettes, pompadours not swaying in the breeze. But a few months ago, I was finally able to (drunkenly) experience the awesomeness of Acme for myself.
Coming from the horrifically overcrowded but still cool Albatross Pub down the street, the fact that Acme was pretty empty was a welcome relief. As with all bars that are too cool for school, and most bars that I like (if I'm going to be honest with myself and with you), there's a strong hipster element to this place. But hipster bars are the best bars (so says I!), especially when filled with hot tattooed and pierced boys and hot and/or fat* rockabilly girls with cleavage and tats poppin'. Who am I to complain?
Moreover, the prices are reasonable, the beer selection is good (gotta love bars that offer inexpensive shit beers next to good microbrews), they have good specials, pretty good liquor selection. And 24oz PBR cans for $4. Big beer in a can is so a way into my heart, if you're a bar. (Enough of it is also a way into my somewhere else, but we don't need to talk about that right now.)
They got pool, they got music, they got nice eye-candy. They even got sexy murals (with booooobies) on the door to the ladies room. Nice. At Acme, there's a definite dearth of polo shirts--AND it isn't wholly peopled by college students?!? Sounds like a good time to me!
Patrons and employees may not be overwhelmingly friendly, but I don't go to bars to make friends anyway. Unless I'm already drunk when I get there.
(* Fat chicks can be hot. Shut up. Don't give me no lip. I don't wanna hear your nonsense.)
In the interest of full disclosure, I will begin by telling you that I am a bartender here, but I am also a regular customer and thus would like to tell you about this wonderful little hole-in-the-wall known as The Acme.
We have a huge range of mid- and top-shelf liquors from you to choose from and the bartenders would be happy to describe and recommend a good choice for you. Tasty whiskeys and tequila's abound! We also, of course, have the requisite tall cans of PBR and Tecate for the bang for your buck, as well as what I like to call "The Setup;" a short can of PBR and a big ol' shot of Rebel Yell bourbon for $5. The DJ's are great fun, sometimes people dance, (come out some Saturday night and say hi to Jesse, Erin & I! We dance and sometimes sing along!) the pool table is popular and now we have the Area 51 videogame and two awesome pinballs. I LOVE making fancy cocktails, so come on in and try one out sometime!
There's some pretty big plans a foot for a super-sweet expansion later this year, so keep checking back!
Folks are friendly, drinks are strong, no lame attitudes but no bullshit either and there's a lot of good-lookin' folks to gawk at. What more could you ask for?
I'm completely in agreement. If you don't like smoke, don't go.
I love that I can come in here dressed to the nines, or in jeans and feel fine. I love that there are mostly cool and mellow people around. I love that the drinks aren't bady priced, and the DJ's play wonderful subversive stuff on Fridays. I love that it's got a punk vibe with no bad attitude. I LOVE THAT I CAN SMOKE CIGARS HERE!!!!
Yeah, there's the "I'm SO MUCH cooler than you" guy in the corner that is begging you to give him crap for his way too perfect rockabilly getup...and occasionally there are a few angry at the world women there that give dirty looks to any female that attempts to display their femininity with pride...
But every bar worth its margarita salt has colorful patrons, right? That's what gives it character, and makes it unique. So while they may cause me amused irritation, I love those characters for the atmosphere they help complete...a smokey, rockin' dive bar with attitude, great music, OUTSTANDINGLY FRIENDLY bartenders, and fun people to watch and meet (mostly).
One of the things I dont like about this place is actually a plus. They dont take plastic. Which sucks if you are between paychecks and want to let your publicly drunk persona out.
It also has that typical punkbar cigarette thing going on. And yeah the staff can be mean. But hey its a punk bar not TGIfridays!
I dont drink anymore, but get dragged there whenmy friends are DJ-ing.
Guess who got tanked tonight!?!?!? That's right.....me.
7 years ago I thought this place was a vampire biker bar because it had red and black decoration and from the outside it's basically shrouded so you can't see indoors. All black windows.
It's really just a cool ass punk dive bar.
And yes...I totally didn't fit in.
The freedom to blast all of my favorite Mastodon and Pantera songs while playing Area 51 and drinking tall cans of PBR was just what I needed last night.
Meh. It was alright, the bartendress was very nice and I was impressed at how prompt she was at attending to everyone's needs in the bar, her being the only one working a fairly busy (and fairly drunk group at that) wednesday night.
The bar allows smoking which is nice for all the smokers out there, but man can that get intense if you are not a huge fan of second hand smoke, so it's kind of a win-lose situation. I don't mind it usually, but it can get kinda ridiculous at moments, especially when you can't see the person on the other side of the table.
Speaking of which.. Not a ton of seating, but there are a couple of big booths if you are lucky enough to catch one.
Nice location, pretty easy street parking, and within walking distance of a few other spots in the area. It's nice to go to if you are bored, but I don't think this is somewhere I'd go out of my way to hit up.
Smokey as all get out, but I like that those who prefer their bars dark and smokey have somewhere to go. Perfectly good bar for all your rock and/or roll needs. Dark inside and usually full of greaser types, with a pretty good juke and/or DJs.
They have tallboys of PBR. That is also good.
This is where I get the best Bloody Mary(s). Quite a random place, I remember that there was a chocolate cake sitting atop the bar, a really spunky Betty Page-esqe bartender said to help myself to some. OK, so much for pretzels.
Diverse crowd, but minus 1 star since the juke never played my tunes. Must return.
I want to love the Acme. Lanesplitters' is just a mosey down the block, KC BBQ an extended meander, and my house not much more: say a march. And Orlando DJs on Thursday nights, which makes it the perfect venue for old-school punkarocka reunions and perspective re/calibration.
But the smoke keeps me from ever crossing that threshold. One night inside and I'd spend the next 3 at Alta Bates for observation.
To some kids, small room + smoking = killer[, dude] ; to me it's just stupid.
This is my favorite place in Berkeley to go and drink at. I've never paid attention to the decor. It's dark in there, dank, and after it gets pretty late it can get slightly loud and rowdy at times; but not the bad kind. They have my favorite vodka there, Hangar One (Buddha's Hand) which I get with tonic. You can get tall can's of PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) for less than $3, and there's a jukebox, and on the weekends, a DJ. It doesn't ever get boring to me (as another yelper stated). On Sunday's, in the warmer part of the year, they have a BBQ outside on their back patio. You can eat, smoke, drink and relax with some very non-Berkeley-esque folk. Very unpretentious, which is why I like it. If you're short on company and bored, find Thad, he's the big tall guy and one of my best friends. He'll talk to ya. If you've got friends a plenty, you can play some pool, or some pinball, or hell, some Pacman (my friend J.D's choice). I don't know if there under new ownership, but yeah, the ownder, if she's there, at 2am when the bar closes, can be a bit....well....she's kind of bitchy and angry at times..... Otherwise, all the bartenders there, are awesome, nice people. If you like shitty dive bars, with no pretention and just a good place to go and get drunk and have a good time, this is the place, otherwise, head to the Mallard or whatever that place is down San Pablo.
I have been a fan of this bar since I first discovered it a few years ago. The staff is cooler than most, and they have some good DJs on the weekends. I even had a stint as a DJ here in 06'.
It might be an acquired taste but it's the real deal.
It's a mix of North Berkeley and downtown. You have got a few older guys that hang out and shoot pool, as far as I have observed non-creepy types that just want get a drink or a game in.
Usually there are a good amount of punks and skins hanging out which might not sit too well with everyone.
As far a s Berkeley goes it's nice because the underground element seems to keep the Todds away. I have mad respect for the fine students and alumni of Cal but I don't choose to drink with the frat boys. The college kids that venture in here are rarely that type.
Good drinks, good lookin' bartenders, great music, and no dude-bros. What's not to love?
If I wanted to pick up a chick with some seriously sexy tattoos, here's where I'd do it: Acme, Bigum's Silver Lion, Radio, Ruby Room, Stork Club. But since I've already got one :) , maybe this will serve as a guide to others, lol.
Maybe if I had known about the $2.75 Sierras before 7pm, maybe if the smokers weren't in full force here, maybe if the whiskey sour was more sugary sweet than sour, and maybe if it weren't a Tuesday and the regulars were like "who the fuck are you" we would have had a better time here. I want to like Acme more and I'll probably be back on some Thu-Fri-Sat, but not this time. You see, the thing with smoking is - it ruins the whole damn experience. Dad died of lung cancer after 40 years of smoking, thank-you-murdering-tobacco-industry-and-advertisi ng, and mom died of brain cancer but smoked on and off her whole life. As a rebel, I don't light up the cancer stick and inhale it or force other people to. So I guess I'm with Darin here. I wasn't giving any people the hairy eyeball for smoking, so that wasn't part of my bad experience here.
I like the people who like Acme, and it's always fun to be in a tattoo-and-fishnet bar. And $2.75 Sierra 'till 7pm? Crap, maybe I'll end up here in a painting mask one of these days. I'll paint it black and punk myself out, it'll be a hella Berkeley statement. ;-)
Acme is really fun for a dive bar, but get's boring fast. I was really excited about 77 night, but the two or three times I went they played a total of.... maybe two 70's punk songs total. Who knows though, maybe next time will be better.
Yes they allow smoking. If you dont like it then go to one of the other 999 other bars that dont allow it. Because this bar isnt so good that you should expose yourself to the harms of 2nd hand smoke to drink in it. And while you're sitting in that other bar, be thankful of the fact that California passed the smoking ban.
Reviewers like Darin E. should skip this place and head to the closest oxygen bar because all the bs you're exhaling is harmful to my good times.
This is where you go to drink whiskey, talk in a brusque voice about the weather and your next tattoo and how you're gonna make someone or be someone's bitch after a game of pool and your 4th round of drinks.
As an ex smoker, a little part of me gets excited when I find a hidden enclave of beer and butts, but that time has passed for me. Not only can my lungs take in a greater capacity, but my tolerance is going down, so I'm a cheap date!
I knew the moment we walked in the locals knew we had never been there. With only 4 of us in the bar on a Tuesday night, you can't really hide the fact that you're gawking at an unfamiliar bar and the bartender's tats....I said TATS!
It's dark, they have an entire shelf of Maker's Mark and my whiskey had more bite than bark....so Acme, I will be back.
I actually fear this bar a little, because it always seems like a good idea. Then I'll wake up 30 years later and wonder where my life went. But that's what the Maker's is for, right?
Dim, red, smallish, pool table, and bathrooms that won't make you vomit. It's amazing how easy that is, but how many other bars get it completely wrong. It's the only bar in Berkeley where I feel absolutely comfortable.
This place is quite amazing. Lovely, 'no nonsense', staff, plus an overall feel that 'well, if your eyes aren't bothering you, then you should probably get to know the place a little better.' Be sure to check our Friday nights at the Acme, where, every other Friday of the month, DJ Geo plays some of the most amazing stuff-from the obscure shoe-gazing to old school hip hop.
FYI: (I) Yes, this bar is (tobacco) smoker friendly
(II) Cash only!
ACME was one of the few places in our neighborhood where you could get a good stiff drink, smoke inside (sometimes), watch bad horror movies on the tube and listen to a great jukebox. You rarely got the college-dude-douchebags in there. It always seemed more of a NYC neighborhood bar than Berkeley. I appreciate that.
I hate Berkeley with a buring passion but ACME was one of the places that made it tolerable.
Oh yeah, the bartenders were always nice in a no-bullshit sort of way. My kind of people.
So far this is my favorite dive bar in the East Bay. Every other bar I've been to in Berkeley or Oakland has either been too hoity-toity, full of annoying college kids, families, or just waay to sketchy. I haven't spent enough time there to get to know the bartenders, but they're very nice. They started carrying Red Tail Ale on tap, which is one of my all time favorite ales.
The scene reminds me of Lucky 13 in SF. Pretty mixed up, but everyone is down with a little bit of grime.
If you don't tolerate second hand smoke, this isn't the place for you. I'm usually pretty tolerant, but the last time I was there I felt like I should step out after every pint and get a drag of fresh air.
Acme is defiantly my kind of place, not to mention it is mere blocks from my house. It's a dark smokey punk rockish dive bar, with a random mixed unpretentious crowd, a pool table, stiff cheap drinks, no nonsense cool bartenders, great jukebox, the occasional DJ, and a couple of pin ball machines.
I really had to think about it for a minute to decided if it really is the best bar in Berkeley as others have said, but when only Oakland bars came to mind that came close, the matter was settled. Acme is defiantly the best bar in Berkeley.
I attribute the re-uptake of my smoking habit to this bar. I'm not blaming the venue - but I would suggest to recently quit smokers to stay away - but whatever - it's your prerogative. I'm back on the wagon - so I'm probably gonna stay away for awhile. You can smoke here, that's the short of it. That's either a big f yeah! or a big hell no! Coming from SF not so long ago I somehow feel like making comparisons to the 500 Club on Guerrero - it has that same divey, dimly lit, dirty, red paint, pissed on, punk vibe to it - except the 500 Club's crowd is a bit more diverse, and the ACME's music is usually louder and harder - but not all that much so. I've always had a good time here, whether I'm out drinking with my pals or going on one of those solo bachelor pool playing / drinking extravaganza evenings.
The crowd is generally a mix of blue-collar, had-one-too-many-20 something-whatever, broke artist, hipster DJ, lonely husband, with an regular infusion of whatever crowd I fall into (creative professionals) types. It's usually a pretty mellow crowd. They have a good selection of beer - choose your poison. Grab yerrself tall boy of Pabst or a Trumer Pils. This place is the real deal. Spit on the floor. Stink up the bathroom (if you dare sit down) . Squash your butts on the floor. The service has always been solid in my experience - I can't say much bad about it. This is NOT a place you should order a martini.
I've been hanging around at the ACME for a long time now. Divey? Yes. Cheap drinks? Yes. Pinball? Yes. Raddest jukebox in town? Yes. That's what got me started there.
Now I mostly hang out with DJ Queen Bee on Saturday nights (she spins the awesome 80's records that won't quit.) Oh and the bartenders are the best and understand the meaning of a stiff drink. What more could you want? ..... the college kids don't go there much! Bonus!
Smoking inside....yes!
That being said, my non-smoker friends hate it, and my smoker friends love it.
The best bar in Berkeley by a long shot.
Cheap drinks, great music, non-douchey crowd.
Yeah, it's dark and dingy, etc. but that's part of why I love it.
I've never been for free BBQ or seen a DJ spin here, but I definetely will be returning for both at some point.
Acme wins Best Bar in Berkeley (though not quite the whole East Bay). The clientele is a perfect mix of San Pablo stragglers, Berkeley intelligensia and normal dudes. The jukebox is awesome - bad brains, misfits, johnny cash, pixies. They sometimes have a dj spinning live music too (usually 80's punk rock and new wave). There's a pool table, pinball machines, and the TV almost always has a rad horror movie on mute. It's pretty much everything you're looking for in a bar, without being too hip at all.
Have some wood-oven pizza and beers at LaneSplitters, then head down the block to Acme for drinks. That's a pretty fine night right there.
I heard that this place is under new ownership. I hope this is true. That psycho hose beast of an owner was MEAN to the customers and employees. It made me stop going. Maybe now I'll be back.
As soon as I walk into this place I feel an urgent need to take a shower. It's pretty damn dirty. The jukebox is ok, nothing special. Girls, you are guarenteed to be hit on by at least two exceptionally creepy guys here. Warning: You are probably so far gone from the cheap PBR that you don't immediately realize their extreme creepiness, the after effects of which could result in many thing unplesant.
But it gets two stars for being the site of my ironically worst but simultaneously most entertaining date ever!
A dog works here. They say he works Thursdays, but I saw him on Sunday, begging for the nice free food and willing to endlessly chase a ball. Other bar comforts: a pinball machine or two and a pool table, and Sierra on tap; tall stools and black paint, and the spirits of yesteryear's Mike & Mary's patrons.
Spirits - heh.
I had walked by the Acme and thought, oh, that's a place where women aren't let in, oh how wrong I was.
Go see DJ Queen Bee at ACME on Saturday nights, she covers the 80's like no one else can, and there's no cover which is always nice.
Berkeley, CA
Category: Dive Bars
Berkeley, CA
Category: Pubs
Neighborhood: South Berkeley
Category: Dive Bars
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area
Category: Pool Halls
Berkeley, CA
Category: Music Venues
what to do when your days off are in the middle of…
I just quit my job in the People's Republic of…
I love Oakland--and not just because it's where…
It's shameful but delightful to admit that I used…
My mom is a smaller version of me except she likes…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
Drinking is not a past time...it's a life choice,…
The line between love and hate is almost always a…
